Postsecondary Scholarships

The scholarship program is intended for autistic students who are pursuing undergraduate education at an accredited post-secondary institution in the United States. Students who have already received a Bachelors degree are not eligible for these scholarship opportunities, and these scholarships do not support graduate or postgraduate education.

Qualifying students must be accepted for enrollment or enrolled on a full-time basis. Past OAR scholarship recipients are ineligible to apply for another scholarship. Any student with an autism spectrum diagnosis is invited to apply, so long as they are attending a four-year college or university (undergraduate), a two-year college, a life skills program, or a trade, technical, or vocational school.

Students may only apply for one of the three scholarships in one year. If the applicant does not receive a scholarship, they may re-apply the following year, either to the same scholarship or a different one, providing that they meet the eligibility requirements.

SCHWALLIE: The Schwallie Family Scholarship is for students attending a two- or four-year college at the undergraduate level on the path to a four-year degree.

HUSSMAN: Those applying for the Lisa Higgins Hussman Scholarship attend two-year colleges, life skills or postsecondary programs, or vocational, technical, or trade schools.

SYNCHRONY: Applicants for the Synchrony Scholarship for Autistic Students of Color may be attending any kind of postsecondary educational institution at the undergraduate level and must belong to an underrepresented racial/ethnic minority group: Asian American/Pacific Islander, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino/a/e, Indigenous (Native American, Alaska Native), Middle Eastern/North African, and/or Multiracial. (Please note that autistic students of color are eligible to apply to any of the three programs for which they qualify, but they can only apply for one of them.)

Please contact us if you have any questions about your eligibility for the different scholarships.

Students attending a two-year program or college should select the scholarship that best aligns with their goals. If a student intends to pursue a four-year degree, the Schwallie Scholarship is likely a better fit than the Hussman Scholarship. In contrast, a student who is not intending to continue on to further education after completing the two-year program may find that the Hussman Scholarship is a better fit than the Schwallie Scholarship. Students of color attending a two-year program may apply to any of the three scholarships. Students may not apply to multiple programs. If you are unsure which program is the best match for you, please contact us.

No, the scholarships support students at the undergraduate level only.

All scholarships are worth $3,000 per awardee.

The OAR Scholarship Program is very competitive. With approximately 40-60 scholarships available each year, the program draws far more deserving and talented applicants than scholarships it has to award. In 2023, we received nearly 1,100 applications for 55 available scholarships. Applicants who do not receive a scholarship may re-apply as long as they are still enrolled in undergraduate studies.

During the open application period, you can find a link to the online application at the top of this page. When you apply, you will be required to sign up with your e-mail address and create a password for your account. Please be sure to remember this password, as it is the only way to go back and make edits and submit your application. Once you have signed up (or logged in if you are returning), the system will take you directly to the most updated version of your application.

Aside from basic personal and contact information, the application requires a few key documents in order to be considered complete:

Proof of enrollment. Usually an acceptance letter or a class schedule to upload as an attachment. If you only have a hard-copy document, use a scanner to create an electronic copy.

The date of your initial autism diagnosis. Please note that you do not need to supply proof of diagnosis in order to apply. Only those individuals who are selected as finalists will be required to produce documentation.

Responses to three essay questions. Please refer to the application for details on each question. The Schwallie and Hussman applications require you to respond in writing (you can dictate your responses to someone else to type for you). The Synchrony application accepts responses submitted in writing as well as audio recordings and slideshows.

Letter(s) of recommendation.

• Students applying for the Lisa Higgins Hussman Scholarship must obtain two letters of recommendation, one from a non-relative and another from a parent or guardian. Applicants must request the letters of recommendation through the online scholarship application.
• Applicants for the Synchrony Scholarship for Autistic Students of Color must include one letter of recommendation from a non-relative. Applicants must request the letter of recommendation through the online scholarship application.
• Applicants for the Schwallie Family Scholarship may submit one letter of recommendation if they choose. Please note that a letter of recommendation is of high value to the OAR Scholarship Review Committee. Please also note that Schwallie applicants may only submit one letter for consideration. If more than one letter is received, the additional letter will be deleted. Applicants who choose to include a letter will need to request one through the online scholarship application.
• For more detailed information about the letter of recommendation, read “How do I submit my letter of recommendation?” below.

No. The entire process is conducted online.

The application deadline is in late April or early May each year, which should provide most students with enough time to decide which school or program they will attend. OAR advises applicants to wait to upload an acceptance letter until they have made a final decision.

Applicants can work on the other parts of their application as they await their acceptance letters and/or make their enrollment decisions. When filling out the Application Form, without entering the name of the postsecondary institution or uploading proof of enrollment, click “Save & Continue Editing.” Use the sidebar on the top left side of the screen to navigate to other sections of the application.

Please utilize the “Forgot Password” feature on the application portal. If you are unable to reset your password, please email scholarship@researchautism.org for assistance.

Please click here for recommendation letter guidelines.

Applicants do not upload letters of recommendation themselves. All letters must come directly from the recommender. However, applicants are responsible for initiating the process via our online scholarship management system. Here’s how: 

1. Log into the application portal and click the “Request a Recommendation” task. If you are in the application already, this task can be found on the left-hand side of the application portal window. 
2. Input your recommender’s contact information into the text boxes. Make sure that the email address you have is correct. 
3. Click “Send Request.” Then, click “Mark as Complete” to mark the task as complete.
   1. The task must be marked complete in order for you to be able to submit your application. 
   2. A “complete” task means that you have sent the request to your recommender(s).  You are not required to wait for the letter to be received before submitting your application.
   3. Note that even if you submit your entire application in advance, recommendation letters will still be accepted until the deadline. 
4. The e-mail will be sent automatically from the application system (SurveyMonkey Apply), with “Letter of Recommendation Request” in the subject line.  The e-mail will be sent immediately. The e-mail will include a link to the recommendation portal for your recommender, but you should follow up with them directly to ensure that email was received, as messages from unknown senders often get filtered to a person’s junk or spam folder. 
5. In the event your recommender does not see the email, you may send a reminder through the application system if you have not yet submitted your application. Please advise them to check their junk or spam folder if they do not see the email. If you need to send a reminder but you have already submitted your application, please contact scholarship @researchautism.org for assistance. 
6. After your recommender uploads the letter, you will receive a confirmation email. You can also log back into the application and view your letter status on the “Request a Recommendation” page. 

No, all letters must be submitted through the online application.

Proof of diagnosis is based on the criteria from the two most recent versions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, either the fourth (DSM-IV) or fifth (DSM-5) edition. This must be from your original or an updated diagnosis. Please refer to this checklist to ensure that your documentation contains all the information OAR needs.

If you are unable to find what you are searching for or have additional questions, please contact scholarship@researchautism.org.